Metta World Peace Explains His Twitter Approach

On Election Day 2016, many Americans anxiously awaited results of the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Books will be written, films made and textbooks printed about one of the most significant days in U.S. history.

Metta World Peace was active in politics that day, but in a different way. He began spreading the hashtag, "#ifmettawaspresident" and his fans jumped onboard. It started as a joke, but it turned serious really fast.

On a day so many people expressed extreme emotion on social media or avoided it all costs, why did World Peace stay so level-headed?

"I just comment on things that need to be commented on," World Peace says. "Sometimes, people back it up. They think it's a brilliant comment. But for the most part, I think people just need to learn how to have good families, learn how to be good partners, learn how to be good Fathers and good Moms, learn how to be helpful in the community and definitely fight for what's right. You've got to be willing to fight for what you think's right and what you believe in."

World Peace is in his 18th professional basketball season. At 37, he still has a role on a mostly young Lakers team -- playing for former teammate Luke Walton -- but he is dabbling in other interests. This week, World Peace will actually serve as a writer and actor for The 5th Quarter, a mockumentary series from go90.

World Peace says, "Whatever's fun, I want to go toward." For the time being, that does not mean he is building his 2020 presidential campaign.

"I think it's important to be involved in politics. I don't think you have to be a politician to be involved with politics that affect your life.

"I like to kind of bring light, bring some positivity to a situation."

In terms of the current president-elect, World Peace says he has never met Trump, but can say, "His hotels look nice. Hopefully he does a good job as president."

World Peace says he has met Barack Obama a handful of times, but he does not know the president personally. But he is impressed by one aspect of Obama's life that appears to have been maintained while in the White House.

"His family is great, and I think that's a good thing," World Peace says.

World Peace will continue sharing thoughts on social media when appropriate. If he can be a positive voice in the country, he finds such comments necessary.

"I'm active now," he says, asked if he will ramp up his work in the community when he eventually retires. "I do a lot of things with mental health. I think it's very important to do a lot of things on my Twitter, speaking about being a good father and a good partner. I think that's more important than politics."

On Election Day, World Peace used Twitter to play his part in calming a divided country on social media. In a critical time in the U.S., World Peace is using his vast profile to offer his form of consulting.

And on Wednesday, World Peace will have some fun. In his specific episode of The 5th Quarter, a 10-year-old named Sylvester, who is blind, gets a chance to watch one basketball game in between eye surgeries. Sylvester gets to wish for Ron Artest, not Kobe Bryant, to take the Lakers' final shot of Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals.

World Peace says he has a future in entertainment writing after basketball, and fans will get a glimpse of his creative mind here.